Bewitching Hour
by Fever-Induced
Summary: mermaid!santana has been stalking a set of islands since she's been a mermaid, one ship manages to escape and she decides to go on a hunt to make sure it sinks. brittana of course


pairing: mermaid!Santana & pirate!brittany

rating: T

AN: just trying to get back in the swing of writing. plus hello pirates and mermaids are awesome! it's based on a post I once saw on Tumblr; "I want someone to write a book where Mermaids are the women thrown off ships when the sailors got afraid because having a woman on the boat is bad luck. And as they sink to the bottom, legs tied together, they change slowly until they can breathe, until they can use their tied up legs to swim. And they drown sailors in revenge, luring them in by singing in their husky voices still stinging from the salt water they breathed."

AN2: might get a double alert bc I had to go back and add breaks throughout. also I uploaded this on my phone so I used /text/ instead of italics bc it was a b!tch to work with

* * *

Santana had been seventeen when she stowed away on a ship and attempted to sail the seven seas. Unfortunately for her the seas had been rough and hard to navigate, stormy for days with no end in sight. The men blamed her, the only woman among the crew, as the one to bring bad luck and harsh circumstances. She protested, claiming that superstition reigned their minds, but it did not stop them. She woke once more only when her body slammed into a wave, legs immobilized and screamed bloody murder, cursing those men who threw her overboard.

She clawed at the rope binding from ankle to thigh, coughing and spitting as she wiggled in an attempt to stay above the waterline. It did her no good. But her persistence to free herself and reluctance to die may have been her saving grace, for as Santana sunk to the ocean floor every last molecule of oxygen left her body, lungs filling with salt water burning and aching until her neck grew gills, filtering the water into something substantial, giving her sustenance. Her weak and fragile body lay against the cool sand of the ocean floor, rope disintegrating as skin erupted in goosebumps which grew and morphed to scales as time passed. Santana was uncertain how long she was there for, but it was long enough for her new body to be coated in a layer of algae, precious clothes washed away with the undercurrent leaving her bare, fused legs twitching and swishing like a fish.

She watched in fascination as the new appendage cut through water while she swam circles. Never before had Santana felt so utterly free! She had heard tales of merfolk, women to be exact, luring men to their death as they sailed the sea but never before had she thought it true! Now, she would make those stories her life. Damn those men who threw her overboard. Damn those men who allowed superstition rule their lives and cut hers short. The anger fueled her as she swam upwards until she was soaring through the air like a dolphin and diving back under. Her dark locks billowed behind her as she raced though the waters.

It took some time before she found her comfort among a series is islands, lounging among the large boulders of the sea and peaking out above the waterline to call out to the passing ships. Her voice in life had always been quite rough, but after swallowing the salt of the sea it had gained a certain husk she'd never before heard. It made her many songs irresistible and over the years she sunk many a ship. It thrilled her to watch the boards crack and splinter, men leaning precariously over the rails to catch a glimpse of their beautiful siren.

She most enjoyed when a sailor would careen overboard, flailing through the air until he hit the water. She would swim over, cooing sweet nothings and her arms engulfed him. Their eyes were always glazed and unfocused until they were dragged beneath the surface and the panic set in. It was then that her olive skin would gain a greenish hue, brown eyes glowing like embers of a dying fire and his screams would be mere bubbles and foam. Santana also enjoyed the way the rage of her demise would elongate her nails to claws, gripping at the sailors lapels and dragging him further into the depths where all he could see were her glowing eyes. Santana loved to give them hope and take their lips against hers, breathing life into their lungs and watching their faces brighten with gratitude even as the men sank further from the surface, because in the end she would only fuse their lips and suck the last of their oxygen, cackling while their arms flailed and bodies seized.

* * *

It went on as such for many years. Santana lost count how many, but it did not seem to matter for she retained here youthful visage. She only knew of the men she had lured and drowned, putting blame on those who cast her from their ship so long ago. It was always he mens' fault, after all none would be dying today if they hadn't flounced her all those years ago.

The only inconsistency was one damn ship. No matter how Santana called to it the Captain avoided running it to stones and sinking it. Now, Santana had never encountered a ship she couldn't sink. So when this one sailed through the isles without incident, she became furious. It made no sense to her! The men would peer at her with their glazed eyes, while she lay on the boulders wailing (not right word), and nearly throw themselves overboard to hear her song more clearly but then someone would pull them back and steal them from Santana. It was maddening!

When the ship made a pass to leave the isles, /again/ without incident, Santana left her perch for the first time in ages and followed. She would sink this damn ship if it were the last thing she were to do! She could hear their chatter on board while she circled the ship, they talked of Mer folklore and several men were convinced they were being stalked by a mermaid. It made Santana snicker, because apparently Isla de la (Word) was known for being unable to sail through without incident, and she knew that was her handy work. Apparently they were the first ship in forty years not to crash to death into the rocks or come through with less sailers than they started the journey, and /that/ infuriated her. The first in forty years! She'd apparently been on quite the roll!

They were well away from the Islands now and the crew was getting restless, being stalked by merfolk was quite unsettling it seemed.

It was a calm sea they travelled, Santana leisurely circling the ship from underneath and getting distracted now and then by a particularly pretty fish, but only for a moment before kicking herself into gear and cutting through the water to catch up. She would poke her head above the water now and again to listen. The crew was restless and easily frightened. The only one with a good head on his shoulders was the Captain, seeing as he'd saved all his men from her call. Maybe it was time to focus her attention solely on him.

With a gleeful smile Santana positioned herself under the captain's quarters' window, treading in place where he wouldn't be able to miss her. Then she sang.

The crew heard her, she was sure because they'd stopped their work and started peering over the rails again to get a look at her, but couldn't figure where she was. Santana sang louder and just as one of the men was about to fling himself overboard to find her, there was a stomping of boots and all the men were gruffly ordered back to work or into the belly of the ship. Santana scowled as doors slammed and the men shuffled about. She grit her teeth and clawed at the water with a hiss. But then she noticed a window creak open and she beamed, tilting her head up to softly croon, knowing her voice would carry up into the Captain's Quarters with the window cracked.

It took much too log but eventually the window swung further open and a head appeared, grinning lopsided and resting his cheek against his palm as he stared down at the mermaid. "You sure are givin me a run for my money."

Santana gazed up at the Captain, a man who looked much too boyish and soft to lead even a group of misfit /children/. Perhaps he had a preference for other sins of the flesh. Santana had heard of men with certain tastes being unaffected by the mermaid's sweet siren song.

She was pulled from her thoughts when the man spoke again, "Why have you followed us?" The pirate was leaning his arms against the sill now, leaning outwards. "I /has/ been /you/ this whole time, right? Trying to sink my ship and kill my men."

"Yet your ship has not crashed nor are your men dead. Why is this so?"

Santana watched with satisfaction as the humans face morphed into one of surprise and awe. "So she speaks!" He calls out to the raven haired beauty. "I thought you could only sing your wicked song to lure men to their deaths." There was an impish smile on the man's face that Santana rather enjoyed.

"I have many talents of which humans don't speak," she practically purred, delighted by the way the man's cheeks flushed a healthy shade of pink. Perhaps he was not as immune to her call as she thought, but merely possessed a strong will. One which Santana would break.

The Captain rubbed at his dirty face and shook his head before speaking to her again, his tone much softer. "I've never met a mermaid before."

Santana should feel scrutinized under such a piercing gaze, but it was nice to be admired without the eyes of the beholder being glazed. Even from this distance she could see they were a blue as deep and changing as the very sea she belonged to. "This news is shocking, for I would have thought you've come across my kind time and again, for how you so easily evade me."

The Captain looked positively thoughtful as he turned his attention away from the mermaid for the first time and out towards the horizon. "Oh it is no easy task, I assure you that."

Santana pinched her eyebrows together and scowled slightly. She opened her mouth to retort but there was a loud hammering of a fist against the door the had Santana shrinking beneath the surface up to her nose. With a frustrated huff the man turned away from the window and stalked into his chambers to deal with the nuisance. When he returned the beautiful creature was nowhere to be spotted. He closed the window, then thought better of it and left it ajar.

Santana continued to follow them. But not once did she return to singing. They safely sailed the rest of the way into a rather busy port, known for their good rum, numerous lady friends and Inns that didn't ask for names. The perfect place for pirates to restock and rest up. The crew docked the ship and stampeded off the deck and into town, already boisterous now that they were safely on land, mermaid left behind.

Santana watched from the water. The Captain had not left with the rest of the crew. And for the first time since her changing Santana found herself wishing for legs so that she could walk right into his chambers and get some clear answers. She huffed and sulked away from the docks seeing as the man wasn't coming out any time soon. It was only shortly past noon anyways, she had to stay hidden from wandering eyes.

Down the shore she spotted an area that looked promising. Secluded for the most part, with deep water right up to the edge of land and smooth boulders to lounge upon. She smiled, reminded of her Isles and wondered why she didn't just return. A quick flicker of the eyes towards that damn ship and she had her answer. With a soft sigh she edged her way onto a submerged flat rock and curled her bare torso against a boulder, resting herself against it and letting her eyes flutter shut to rest.

* * *

Santana woke up to the muffled sound of a soft voice singing off-key. Her eyes slowly opened, and she realized she'd slipped further into the water, barely visible, one side of her head only sticking above. She dove beneath the surface and stretched her muscles out, running her fingers through her hair, before curiously resurfacing to search. With both ears free of water she could now hear the gentle crooning more clearly.

She swam leisurely towards the sound, enjoying the gentleness of the voice, gliding across the surface and humming along. Santana's curiosity increased when she was drawn around further away from the docks and ships, away from the ruckus and harsher side of town towards an unfrequented crumbling side of the island. Her dark eyes locked onto the hooded figure sitting among the rocks, bare toes tickling the water. She sunk into the water so that only her eyes were showing and inched closer.

The figure trailed off and lowered their hood revealing blonde hair and blue eyes. "It's been three days. I was wondering if you'd left without a goodbye, so I thought maybe you'd come if /I/ was the one singing," the Captain explained with a bright grin.

"I was asleep," was Santana's simple explanation.

"Do you often sleep for days at a time?"

"I suppose, but there's no way to track the days I've lost while asleep."

"Interesting.."

"Is it really? I don't give it much thought."

The Captain laughed, a twinkling sound that had Santana cocking her head and narrowing her eyes. "You are no man.."

"Maybe that's why you haven't taken down my ship," the woman teased.

"Women aren't Captains," Santana snapped, "How?"

"Simple. They think I'm a man."

Santana snarled, moving right up to the edge, beneath the woman's feet, "They will kill you in time."

The woman tilted her head, blue eyes shimmering in the moonlight as she moved her feet to the side. She was silent for a long moment before softly asking, "Were you killed?"

Santana's eyes flashed dangerously, glowing a vicious red as she sneered, "Yes."

Blue eyes intently stared until Santana came back to reality. This Captain was not the threat haunting her these past decades. Santana huffed and turned away, swimming away a few feet and tossing her hair over her shoulder. "I've never been in the water," the blonde hums.

Santana looks over her shoulder, eyebrow raised. "Yet you Captain a ship and sail the seas?"

She hummed, nodding and grinning.

"That is very dangerous, Captain, you could fall overboard."

"I have impeccable balance," she explained, standing and walking along the edge of teetering rocks. Santana felt her chest tighten, immediately turning towards the woman. "Besides, my men are loyal and would gladly pull me from the waters." Santana scoffed. Blue eyes turned to her and twinkled with mirth, "Or perhaps a mermaid would be my savior?"

Santana felt her face flush. She shrugged her shoulders, playing with her hair, but not verbally responding to the question.

The blonde shrugged off her jacket, letting it land on the ground. She continued to walk the edge, white cotton sleeves flowing in the light breeze, trousers rolled up to the knees. Santana floated in the same direction, keeping an eye on the woman's feet. But they moved with purpose, checking for stability before letting the full weight fall against the stones. "Do you only kill?"

Santana brought her eyes up the woman's body slowly, noting the impeccably flat chest, before stopping at her face. "Yes," she stated.

"So you've never saved someone from drowning?" the blonde asked, twirling in place.

Reflexively Santana reached forward, causing a splash. "Correct," she replied gruffly.

"Would you catch me?"

Santana could barely process the request, before the woman was teetering forward. An exasperated, "Captain," escaped the brunette and Santana's tail cut through the water, propelling her forward. She managed to catch the other woman only seconds after her body was submerged in the water.

"Brittany," the blonde laughed, "You may call me Brittany. And you could have let me gone under, I trust you." As she talked, Brittany wrapped an arm around Santana's neck.

The mermaid scowled and dropped her arms but Brittany just grinned and hung around her neck and shoulders. "You are strange."

"Says the mermaid," the blonde teased.

Another scowl. Santana floated them forward and pushed Brittany up against the crumbling wall. "You may release me and return to your wall."

"No thank you," Brittany murmured, sliding her hand into the hair at the back of Santana's neck.

The brunette hummed, eyes narrowing. "What are you doing?"

Brittany's lips curled into a wicked smile. "Just because you couldn't get me to jump overboard doesn't mean your song was any less bewitching."

"I see," she smiled, hands resting on the wall.

* * *

to be continued (upon request)


End file.
